MDC managed waterfowl reservations for fall open Sept. 1
Pre-season reservation period will run Sept. 1-18. In-season weekly drawings will take place Monday afternoons.
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) announces its managed waterfowl hunts for this hunting season. The pre-season reservation period will run Sept. 1-18 with results posted Oct. 1. The in-season weekly drawings will take place on Monday afternoons with a seven-day application period that opens the Tuesday before and closes the Monday of the draw at 3 p.m.
Missouri residents and qualifying non-residents, such as students from out of state or members of the military stationed in Missouri, can apply online for a reservation to guarantee them an opportunity to hunt on a specific day on a specific area. Residents and nonresidents can also arrive at a managed waterfowl hunting area the morning they wish to hunt and wait in line for the possibility of getting a hunting spot.
Applicants for waterfowl reservations must have their required permits to apply, and their Federal Duck Stamp to hunt.
MDC offers managed waterfowl hunting on more than a dozen conservation areas specially managed with a focus on wetlands. Hunters can apply for a reservation or participate in a daily morning drawing for opportunities to hunt at these areas. MDC also offers waterfowl hunting on other conservation areas. In addition to MDC areas, Missouri offers waterfowl hunting opportunities at numerous other public and private locations around the state.
For this fall, MDC’s waterfowl reservation system will offer 50 percent of daily hunting positions for the managed-hunt areas through online reservations. Of the 50 percent of spots through online reservations, half will be for pre-season applications and half will be allocated during a weekly in-season application period. The remaining 50 percent of spots will be held for hunters who participate in the daily morning drawing and wait in the “poor line” for the possibility of getting a hunting spot.
“Under this reservation system, if an area offers 20 daily hunting positions, five will be allocated through pre-season reservations and five through in-season reservations,” explained Joel Porath, who coordinates managed waterfowl hunts for MDC. “The remaining 10 positions will be allocated to hunters from the poor line the morning of each hunt.”
Successful pre-season and in-season reservation applicants will be notified after their respective draws via email or text message with their hunt date, location, and pill assignment. “Pills” designate the order hunting parties select their hunting locations on the area. The lower the number, the sooner hunting parties get to select their hunting location.
“This will let reservation holders know before they leave their homes if their randomly generated number will enable them to be one of the first, middle, or last parties to pick their hunting location,” said Porath.
Only one member from each hunting party will be allowed to have a staff member pull a pill for their respective party. Residents and nonresidents can hunt with a reservation holder and hunting parties are limited to a maximum of four people.
MDC also notes that hunters with disabilities will apply to use ADA hunting blinds through the online reservation system during the same timeframe as the preseason application period. ADA blinds that are not selected and allocated during the preseason drawing will be placed in the weekly in-season draws.
The Dexter Bearcats are wrapping up their summer program and are ready for the Friday night lights at Charles Bland Stadium. On Wednesday, they held a 7 on 7 and Big Man Challenge against the Kelly Hawks.
The athletes and coaches have worked and sacrificed all summer long to get to this point. With new head coach Chad Jamerson at the helm, the Bearcats are starting to come together as a team.
In the Big Man Challenge the boys flipped tractor tires, tug-of-war, and offensive/defensive tackle plays. The 7 on 7 featured each teams ability to throw and run the ball to score.
"The kids are having fun and working hard. Those are valuable parts of the program building process," commented Head Coach Chad Jamerson. "There are moments throughout this process where we, as coaches, will see all of the moving parts start coming together. It’s hard not to get excited when we see positive things happening. But, we also have to beware not getting too excited with the good or too low with the bad. At the end of the day, we’ve gotta continue to work hard and keep getting better. The rest will take care of itself."
There were a lot of positives and negatives on the field during the challenge. Kelly gave the Bearcats a lot of different looks on offense and defense.
"Our kids are still in the process of learning what our standard of play is. Programs grow slowly like a tree, so we’ve got be patient throughout the process. It won’t happen overnight. With that being said, I felt our kids worked hard and showed flashes of really good play," continued Jamerson.
"I believe we learned today that things are never as bad as we think…nor are they ever as good as we think. Just like in life, things aren’t always going to go our way. So, how do we handle adversity. That’s a lesson that we always have to continue teaching to our youth. “Are you going to lay down or are you going to stand and fight?” I believe that if you continue working hard, good things can happen."
Dexter's schedule is a tough one this year. They are on the road at New Madrid County Central, Caruthersville and Malden. At home they will see East Prairie, Doniphan, Kennett and Park Hills Central. All incredibly good team and will be challenging to beat.
"We, as a program, must continue to have perspective in terms of our expectations vs our outcomes. Along with that, we are learning to trust each other and the playbook. Sometimes, we only see the pieces instead of the entire puzzle. Today, I believe we started to put the pieces in the right place to make the big picture less murky. Ultimately, it’s a TEAM game. The players and coaches have to learn to “do your job” while also trusting that your teammates and coaches will do just that, their job," continued Jameson.
This year's homecoming will be September 16th against East Prairie, which just happens to be Coach Jamerson's home town.
"This is always an exciting time of year. So much promise and possibility. The time to see where we are is coming quickly," state Jamerson.
"Thank you to all those that have supported our kids. We appreciate that. Personally, I want to say thank you to our kids and our coaches. They really do keep the machine running. With continued hard work, some luck, and faith…I believe we are headed in the right direction."
The Bearcats host a Football Jamboree on Friday, August 19th against Fredericktown, Poplar Bluff, and Caruthersville. They open on the road at Scott City the following Friday.
Bernie, MO - Fall sports practices begin August 8, 2022. Coaches will be reaching out to their athletes regarding each team's practice schedule.
Coaches will also be reaching out, to inform, which athletes need a physical.
Reminder, all athletes must have the sports physical form turned in to practice.
Also, all athletes will be required to complete the "annual requirements" form.
BOTH forms must be completed and turned in, before the first day of practice.
Both forms can be accessed using the following directions:
click "sports medicine" tab
Under "Mshsaa resources tab" you will find both documents listed as follows:
-Current MSHSAA Pre-participation Physical Evaluation Form
-Current MSHSAA Pre-participation Documentation-Annual Requirements
Coaches also have these forms that they can give to athletes.
Dexter, MO - The Dexter Bearcats will host a Football Jamboree on Friday, August 19, 2022 at the Charles Bland Stadium beginning at 6:00 p.m. Four team will feature their skills on the field. Entry for all spectators will be free.
Dexter will play in their white jersey, Poplar Bluff will be in maroon, Fredericktown will have black on and Caruthersville will be in their red jersey.
Order of Play - North being the flag pole end, south being the scoreboard end.
Round 1: Dexter vs. Fredericktown (North) Poplar Bluff vs Caruthersville (South)
Round 2: Dexter vs. Poplar Bluff (North) Caruthersville vs Fredericktown (South)
Round 3: Dexter vs. Caruthersville (North) Poplar Bluff vs. Fredericktown (South)
Each Team will be on Offense and Defense for 12 plays each. Coaches will decide prior to the scrimmage which team will be on offense first.
